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How much cash do you carry before a trip?

I remember last time when I was travelling in the EU, lots of the stores and hotels can be paid by my visa cards, and the bank doesn't charge extra fees with all the transactions. I want to know how much you guys prepare with the amount of cash each time you're travelling?

Most credit cards do, in fact, charge fees called foreign transaction fees, usually 3%. Capital One being the best known exception. So that's what I use. Also a debit card for cash from ATMs after arrival at the destination and $500 emergency cash which I almost never touch. That's it.

I carry the equivalent of about $200US in cash (small bills and/or coins) and use very little of it - mostly for gratuities or taxi fares. Like MmePerdu I replenish cash as needed using a debit card at ATM's.

I charge everything I can on my Capital One visa card - no foreign transaction fee plus I get "points" I can use to offset future travel (or use for the "Purchaser Eraser" feature).

I pick up cash on arrival in a new country (unless I've been there before and kept left over cash). If I'm flying or arriving by train there will be an ATM in the airport or station. If I'm arriving by bus or shared taxi I might change a little cash at the border, but the best exchange rate is always from ATMs.

Note: in addition to foreign conversion fees on most credit cards, they are also charged on most ATM withdrawals. I have both Capital One credit cards and a Cap One checking account, which charge 0%, and a Credit Union card and account which charge 1%.

Watch out for the Dynamic Currency Conversion scam. If you use a credit card the charge should always be in the local currency.

Inform your bank and credit card company that you will be traveling.

I usually take some US $50 or $100 bills for emergency use. The amount depends on the length of the trip. $200 should be plenty for a short trip.

thursdaysd and janisj - you misread my post - I said "...the equivalent of about $200US in cash (small bills and/or coins)..." - the operative word being EQUIVALENT". What's wrong with using local currency in cash for taxis and gratuities?

we usually do what you have all described, [save missGreen] except that I feel uncomfortable if I don't have some actual currency of the country when I arrive, in case my bank have decided that Florence is no longer in Italy, for example.

I would certainly not carry large amounts of cash around unless i needed them for an apartment rental and was going to get rid of it pretty soon. friends of ours decided to take all the money they would need with them [about €1000] and left it in the cab of their camper when they stopped overnight in an "aire" near Marseilles. [yes, i know, several mistakes there - they are not fodorites]. in the night they were robbed and the only things they had left were their clothes, their children [all of which were in the main part of the camper with them] and their passports.

When i asked if they didn't think that getting money from an ATM would be safer, they said that they didn't realise that they would be able to find one in the south of France.

It depends on where I'm going and for what reason. I try primerally to pull local currency from an ATM upon arrival. My ATM card does not charge a fee or currency conversion and they will reimburse for any fee charged by the local bank. I then try to spend every dime before I leave the country by paying down my hotel bill for instance with cash before finishing it with CC. That way I don't have to ask my home bank to do a reverse exchange (talk about a horrible rate!) upon returning home. If its EUR or pesos or the like...a place where I will be returning, I just save the extra in an envelope at home for the next trip.

To Europe never more than the amount of 200E in 20s,10s and maybe a 50. Then it's ATMs for me or a CC..Never been a problem over the many years of travel. A few US$ are also in my pocket. Local currency (ie Turkish or Francs) is less easy to come by unless you get it at a cash vendor and the price is higher so I/we wait until arrival.

I get about $200 USD worth of local currency when I arrive (my bank charges a 1% ATM fee) and use my credit card for as much as I can. Fortunately, my credit card company has no foreign transaction fee. Would love a chip and pin card though! I've been burned by that a couple times and have been glad to have cash on hand.

We pay for most of our day-to-day expenses in cash when we travel rather than charge them. Just a personal preference. We get cash from the ATM as we go along, taking the max allowed for each ATM transaction to minimize fees.

If I'm in the US using a credit card I get FF miles. If I'm abroad using a credit I get 1% cash back and no foreign conversion fees. No reason to use cash unless I have to. (I do use cash - from an ATM - for small purchases.)

It depends if I have to pay for an apartment in cash. Last trip to France we could not get any of our atm cards to work. Bank still hasn't given an explanation. Worked fine as soon as we landed in UK. So very happy I had cash. This trip I have two different atm cards.

Germany is next trip and bringing about 200.00 euro left over from Italy trip. We are retired military so have a bank on base that we use for cash. Germans like cash.

I don’t actually carry very much currency with me when I travel to a different country – perhaps a few hundred dollars’ worth of cash is enough. It is not worth carrying more because you are only going to worry about losing it and there are very few places where you won’t have convenient access to an ATM. If you are concerned about losing your credit or debit cards, taking some travelers checks along with you (stored in a separate place to your cards) is a good back-up. Choose a credit card with low foreign withdrawal/ conversion fees – Capital One seems the most popular choice. And make sure any cash and your cards are insured before you travel.

@ janisj -- I'm writing re: post on flanneruk. I used the yellow triangle with a message that was as clear as I could craft. I've rarely used the triangle, but when I have, I've never seen any action except in response to flagrant advertising. Maybe if you also contact them? Thanks!

Sorry, devloff -- this is an off-post attempt to contact another Fodorite. Please forgive me for interrupting your thread!

If you are still looking for answers:
- I typically carry about $200 in US currency and about the same in the currency of the country I am visiting, once I have obtained it.
- I carry at least 2 different credit cards in separate locations. I once found that the magnetic strip of my ONLY CC had been inadvertently de-magnetized. I try to avoid that scenario again!
- I carry at least 2 different ATM cards in separate locations. See above.

Before you travel -
- find out if you need, and have, a chip & pin card.
- make sure your CC companies know EXACTLY when you will be away and know that they CANNOT contact you at your home phone number once you have left (or they know exactly how to contact you once you have left)
- make sure you have the telephone number to call to tell the CC company that you did, in fact, report that you would be away and that you do in fact want them to let you use your card....
- if possible, get a card that doesn't charge for currency exchange and has a low ATM fee

"my Capital One visa card - no foreign transaction fee" -- some Capital One visa cards charge no foreign transition fees. I don't believe that ALL are exempt. CHECK!

thursdaysd gave you some absolutely critical advice: "Watch out for the Dynamic Currency Conversion scam. If you use a credit card the charge should always be in the local currency"

Approximately $200 in local currency; there are loads of comments on this forum about using ATMs at destination, and we do so when they are attached to an open banking institution once arrived and settled. Two credit cards, one w/ chip/pin that's much heavier. This is our routine and we're sticking with it!

This really depends on you and where your traveling to. Personally I think that if you get a good credit card, its safer to just carry no more than $100 per person then take out money as you need it. When you arrive somewhere new, your going to be tired, and probably look like a tourist therefore airports are great places for pickpockets so don´t carry all your cash with you until you have settled a bit.